Revelation and Ontology: What does the homooúsios of Nicaea Tell us Today?

Abstract

The Nicene Symbol of Faith is qualified by the insertion of a term of philosophical significance: οὐσία (ousía). It is used to specify that Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, is ontologically the Son of God made man. Hence the question: what significance has the ὁμοούσιος (homooúsios) had in the history of the interpretation of the truth of faith and, at the same time, of the meaning of being? And does such significance still have something to tell us today? To set up an answer, we turn to two letters that illustrate its fundamental meaning and theoretical scope: the letter known as De decretis Nicaenae Synodi by Athanasius of Alexandria and the third letter, entitled The Trinity, of the twelve of which Pavel Florenskij’s The Pillar and Foundation of Truth is composed. The result is that the ὁμοούσιος can constitute a valuable resource even for today’s thinking: paving the way for a resemantization of ontology in a reconfiguring and transfiguring exodus within the “place” propitiated by the Christological event.

Keywords: Nicene Symbol of Faith. ὁμοούσιος (homooúsios). Athanasius of Alexandria. Pavel Florenskij. New Ontology.